NCJ Number
137724
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1992) Pages: 73-84
Date Published
1992
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study examined conflict in the home environment of adolescents from divorced families compared with that of adolescents in intact families across a 3-year period.
Abstract
Adolescents from intact (106) and mother-custody divorced (60) families participated in the study. Interparental conflict was assessed with the O'Leary-Porter Scale, a 10-item scale developed to assess the frequency of overt parental conflict that occurs in front of the child or adolescent. The Interaction Behavior Questionnaire assessed the general relationship between a parent and child, and the Issues Checklist measured the frequency and intensity of specific disagreements between parents and adolescents. Results indicate that adolescents from divorced families did not experience more conflict in the home environment than did those from intact families. In fact, interparental relations after the first year and parent-adolescent relations in general were apparently less conflictual in divorced families. Limitations and implications of the findings are discussed. 3 figures and 26 references